Sunday, March 06, 2011

Elvis In Hong Kong: Up For Grabs

"Forget Iraq ~ Rebuild New Orleans" - written on the back of Elvis Costello's guitar

Last night the Elvis Costello show rolled through our clotted metropolis of Hong Kong and put on a spectacle worthy of the ages. Throughout his over two-hour solo performance, Elvis finessed, lathered, charmed and slayed with the ferocity and precision of a matador in the ring. The stage was literally "in the round" with the crowd surrounding Elvis and prompting him at times to stroll the periphery, arm raised in mock self-aggrandisement like Mussolini at Rome's Palazzo Venezia. The only thing missing were chants of "Elvis Is King!"

With a wink to China's surveillance state, he opened with "Green Shirt" from 1979's Armed Forces:

There's a smart young woman on a light blue screenWho comes into my house every nightAnd she takes all the red, yellow, orange and greenAnd she turns them into black and white

From there he dipped deeply into his rich catalogue, stretching from his first-ever recording - "Radio Sweetheart" - to the ragtime-inspired, "A Slow Drag With Josephine" off his most recent, the excellent, National Ransom. Highlights included a genuinely acoustic rendition of "Jimmie Standing in the Rain," done without electricity when he stepped away from the mic and unplugged his guitar; a mash-up of "New Amsterdam" and the Beatles' "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"; a smoldering "Almost Blue," sung again unplugged as he strolled around the stage; a truly moving version of "Shipbuilding; and "Oliver's Army" with the shout out for us, "Hong Kong is up for grabs!"

There were times when a full band would have added more variety and nuance, specifically backing vocals on "Everyday I Write The Book" and the bass line for "Pump It Up." At one point during "Watching The Detectives" his guitar loops descended into a cacophony of ill-placed intentions as he appeared to struggle with trying to be a one-man karaoke machine. But these are minor quibbles for an artist, who at 56, can still dance about architecture with tragic hipsters half his age.

Here's a rough setlist:

Green ShirtVeronicaEither Side of the Same Town Bullets for the New Born KingNew Amsterdam/You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (Beatles cover)Jimmie Standing in the RainEveryday I Write the Book (a nod to Ron Sexsmith's version)BedlamA Slow Drag with JosephineAlmost BlueWatching the DetectivesGood Year for the RosesRadio Sweetheart/Jackie Wilson Said (Van Morrison cover)Brilliant MistakeAlison/Somewhere Over the Rainbow/The Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix cover)(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?

I had tickets for this and then had to give them up at the last minute as I'd managed to come down with the flu that day. So I was hoping the show would suck but of course that's not the case. Your review greatly appreciated even though it makes me feel worse.